The Value of Family Heritage to Mama - Essay Example

Dee is different from her mother. Unlike her mother and her younger sister, Dee is educated and considers herself to be in control of her life, with the capability of doing and getting anything she wants. For instance, Mama says, “Dee wanted nice things. . . Often I fought off the temptation to shake her. At sixteen she had a style all her own: and knew what style was” (492). In contrast, Maggie, Dee’s younger sister, has accepted herself despite being uneducated and draws her happiness from the heart, and not from material possessions. The characters and attitudes of Dee and Maggie help to shape the character of Mama, as these are the major persons she interacts with. Mama portrays great love for her family heritage and does not want to sacrifice this by leaving it to one of her daughters, who had a different perception of their family heritage.

Dee is the source of Mama’s discomfort. This is mainly because of the numerous differences in perspectives, which existed between them. Although it was through the struggle of Mama that Dee acquired an education, education became a divisive, rather than a beneficial factor. Education is the factor that separates Dee and her Mama. While the life of Mama is faced with toils and struggles, unlike Dee, she did not go through formal education, because of racism and other discriminatory factors in her generation. Dee, being a learned girl, uses her education as a source of intimidation to others. Nonetheless, Mama feels belittled by Dee, as she tries to control the family. This, therefore, is demeaning to Mama and poses a threat to the simple life of Mama as well as Maggie. For this reason, Mama has considerable resentment toward Dee.

Mama feels that Dee has rejected her family and her origins. This is unlike Maggie, who has embraced her real heritage. Nonetheless, there is a difference in how Mama and Dee perceive their heritage. Mama considers Dee to have rejected her real heritage because Dee had taken on a new persona. For instance, she took on a new name, which was not part of their family legacy. Dee also considers her real family heritage “non-existent.” For instance, she views the family quilts and carved dasher as artifacts, which were meant only for display and not for use.
Dee has a negative attitude toward her mother and sister, Maggie, as she is mostly judgmental of them. Additionally, Dee viewed herself as belonging to an intellectual class, unlike her mother and Maggie. For this reason, she did not want to identify with them. For instance, Mama states that “She wrote me once that no matter where we ‘choose’ to live, she will manage to come to see us” (493). In addition, Dee told Mama that she would not bring her friends home. This, therefore, shows that apart from feeling shameful about her origins, Dee also wanted Mama and Maggie to view her as important, such that they should feel little in her presence. Mama hopes that one day Dee will learn to appreciate her and their real family heritage. She says, “Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a TV program of this sort. . .” (492). This would be a defining moment where the daughter and mother would be reunited again, and once again share similar perspectives.
In the final part of the story, Mama notes that “something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet” (496). The thing that “hit” Mama can be considered to be some kind of a revelation. Mama realized that Dee could not make good use of the family quilts, as compared to Maggie. Since Mama valued the family quilts, she realized that if these remained with Dee, she would only hang them on a wall as artifacts. On the other hand, Maggie could make use of the quilts. For this reason, Mama snatches the quilts from Dee and hands them to Maggie. Here Mama perceives Maggie as the most appropriate custodian of the family heritage. This also shows that Mama distrusts Dee, and thus cannot make her the caretaker of their family heritage. Nonetheless, although Mama had to choose the rightful daughter to serve as the caretaker of their family heritage, this gives her peace of mind, even though the other daughter might feel undermined. Read More